Tips for switching from frozen to live?

[MontyP2016]

I would assume this would be an easy one but Montey is almost scared of the little mouse! I'm told he is under 6 months old but has only eaten frozen pinkies. I think live is the best-natural way to feed but when I dropped the little one in, Montey first curled up at the top of his stick and then hid in the corner, not even wanting to watch the mouse. Is the mouse too big? Is he still not comfortable at his new home to eat? Suggestions?

[Darkbird]

Well, first off, there are no real advantages to feeding live over F/T. I feed live as a matter of convenience, because I breed my own feeders and it is a lot of hassle to gas then freeze then thaw and feed. Plus if a prey item isn't eaten it goes back to the holding cage for next time. I also have a few that won't take frozen, otherwise I would have long ago saved myself the additional hassle of breeding rodents. So I would recommend staying with frozen, you likely just need to increase the prey size as even rat pinkies are only useful for a short time. How long have you had the snake, and can you give us the details of the setup please? A picture would be nice too, but just the temperature of the hot spot, cool end, and the humidity at the cool end will be enough.

[BPGator]

I would recommend keeping him on f/t. There are pros/cons to either, but if you only have a small number of snakes, buying frozen allows you to buy in bulk and save money. With live you'll be buying rats every week and you'll eventually come to the point where your snake may refuse some meals.


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[BMorrison]

I would also keep on ft if you can if they'll eat frozen though they'll eat live


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[MontyP2016]

I've only had him since Friday, I personally think maybe he's just not yet fully comfortable with his new home. I actually have him in a 26 gallon upright reptile tank which I hate cause it's standing tall and hard to have a hot and cool spot. I bought the tank because I needed a temporary house for him and it was on sale. I have plans of building him a custom terrain but I didn't think I would need to for a few months or longer, now I think I might have to make him one and then another one down the road cause I hear it's not good to have them in terrains that are too big.
I fully understand ball pythons can have finicky eating habits and go long periods without eating and I'm not worried about him eating anymore, I know he will eat when he's ready, but I do have one concern... He stays under his rock like 99.99% of the time. Normally that wouldn't bother me cause I know they can be lazy but last night I took the rock and moved it to another corner and he never moved. He laid in the exact same spot all night, curled up in the corner the rock was in, completely uncovered. It's like if I do not hold him, he does not move, does not explore, nothing. When I hold him he will move around my hand and wrap through my fingers but when I put him back in the tank it's like he's in hibernating. The temp stays at 87-94 degrees in the day but I've never even saw him sip water. On a side note he appears healthy, no loose skin, no sign of shedding, not skirmish, good tempered, etc. Again, understanding he's a ball python, I am not overly worried about him, especially since he just got a new home, just a little concerned.

As for feeding, I am going to be breeding my own mice, probably even rats one day so I am not worried about the cost of food. About 85% of snake owners tell me they like frozen/fresh killed vs. live but I am definitely one of the 15% I also have a spotted python I got the day before and plan on getting a couple fancy snakes in the near or not so near future, I really have my eye set on a Banana Python and/or Albino and also an Albino Boa. I saw a beautiful Queen Bee yesterday (Which I've never heard of until yesterday) that has a clutch of 4 due in 11 days, maybe I'll be able to get one of hers.